Creepy

I was awakened at 3:00 this morning by the sound of someone at my apartment door--not just knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell, but actually pushing the buttons on the keypad and attempting to come in! I had the keypad disabled from the inside, as I always do at night, so I knew that even if they knew the combination or guessed correctly, that the door wouldn't open, so I wasn't too worried. I could hear male voices speaking in Korean in the hallway. When the keypad didn't work, they banged on the door. I didn't answer. They finally went away but came back a little while later and tried again.

I know a lot of Korean women and some Western men, but I only know a few Korean men, none of whom would be anywhere near my apartment at that hour of the morning, so I figured they were probably drunk and at the wrong place. Nevertheless, the sound of someone trying to enter my apartment was disconcerting. It made me realize that even though I know how to call the police, fire station, ambulance, etc., I don't know how to contact the security guards in my own building without actually going downstairs to the lobby. Why is this the first time this has occurred to me in the two years I've lived here?

Today I learned some important things. First, I learned that the "경비" button on the intercom in my room calls the security guard at the front desk of my building. Next, I learned that the "현관" button turns on the security camera at my door and allows me to see who is out there.

This evening H-k wrote a letter to the building security guards explaining what happened. When I returned to my building, the main security guards were taking a break, so I gave the letter to the man who was filling in. He read it, gave me a thumbs up, and left the letter on the desk. About 30 minutes later, the intercom rang. It was my favorite security guard saying I should come down to the lobby right then.

It was 10:00 PM, and I was already in my pajamas, but I got dressed and went downstairs. He was obviously concerned. He doesn't speak any English, but he told me that if it happens again, I should push the "경비" and someone will come up immediately, anytime day or night. Then he tried to tell me something else, but I didn't understand what he was saying. I asked him to call H-k and tell her so she could explain it to me, but he didn't understand what I was saying. He asked three or four people coming in or out of the building if they could speak English, but no one could. Finally a woman about my age came along and interpreted for us. As it turns out, she lives just down the hall from me. We've run into each other on occasion, but I don't really know her.

Through her, the security guard told me that his daughter lives in France, so he feels a special responsibility to help take care of the foreigners who live here. He was really sorry to hear what happened and said that anytime I need help, all I have to do is push the "경비" button and someone will come up.

T was also very concerned about what happened and gave me a short lecture for not calling him when it happened. He said if it ever happens again, I should call, and he'll be here in 5 minutes. I'm really not sure how he'll do that since it takes 10-15 minutes to get here from where he lives, especially at 3 AM when the buses aren't running and very few taxis are out, but nevertheless, it's nice to know that I have friends here who would try even to overcome time to help in an emergency.